Clasp



Jan. 29, 1952 A, BALL'OU, JR., ETAL 2,583,988

CLASP Filed May 27. 1949 INVENTORS. j l'ede/zz'cfi J 3 611/0,122 J. Rogers 7. JZaf/ora.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 29, 1952 CLASP Frederick A. Ballou, Jr., Providence, and Rogers T. Stafford, East Providence, R. I., assignors to B. A. Ballou & (30., Incorporated, a corporation of Rhode Island Application May 27, 1949, Serial No. 95,716

Claims.

This invention relates to a finding for a clasp, more particularly to the type which is adapted to secure an ornament to the ear of the wearer.

Various means have been provided for holding a clasp on the ear and frequently some sort of a spring arrangement is utilized for pressing one jaw toward another so as to hold the lobe of the ear between them. Springs in smallstructures of this character are frequently delicate and sometimes the jaws are moved apart to such an extent as to rupture or injure the spring.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an arrangement so that the spring which is utilized in a clasp of this character will be prevented from being injured by movement to an extent to rupture or strain it.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stop which will engage the end of a leaf spring at such a location that the full end thrust strength of the spring is utilized for preventing further movement of the jaw.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spring stop or abutment from the stock of the mounting member so that it will be one piece with the mounting member and not require an assembly operation.

Another object of the invention is to utilize the spring stop as a means for suspending a pendant on an ear clasp.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing in full lines the finding and in dotted lines the ornament and the ear as gripped between the pivotally mounted jaw and the ornamental portion of the clasp;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the jaw and support mounting;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the mounting member;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the mounting member in blank form before being bent into finished position; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view showing the curvature of the spring tongue.

In proceeding with this invention, we provide a jaw with a cut-out spring tongue which is arched so as to strengthen the same and provide a mounting member for this jaw bent up from sheet stock from which there is raised an abutment to engage the spring tongue and limit the relative movement of the mounting member and the jaw so that the spring which is utilized for urging the jaw about its pivot will not be injured.

With reference to the drawings, the finding comprises a jaw It and a mounting member desig-, nated generally II, which parts are assembled in a pivotal relation and such assembly is soldered to an ornamental plate l2 as at l3 so that the lobe H} of the ear may be gripped between the jaw I8 and the plate l2 to hold the clasp in mounted position. In dotted lines we have shown in Figure 1 the jaw ID as swung to open position.

The mounting member H, as shown in perspective in Figure 3, is blanked out from sheet stock as at 15 in Figure 4. The blank such as shown at 15 is bent so as to provide an attaching plate or mounting flange [6 which may be soldered as at [3 to ornament l2. From this attaching plate a bottom wall I! extends at right angles thereto, the same being bent to provide this angular relation, while end walls l8 are bent from this bottom wall I! at right angles to the side wall and have extending therefrom ears 19 with openings 20 to pivotally receive the trunnions 2| of the jaw ID. A projection 22 extends upwardly from the bottom wall I? to provide a pressure point for engagement with the spring tongue 23 of the jaw ID when pivotally mounted on the member ll so as to deflect the tongue sufiiciently to cause it to have an inherent tendency to return to the plane of the side portions 24 of the jaw from which it is displaced.

The jaw in has lateral trunnions 2| at one end and is provided with spaced longitudinal slits to provide a center tongue 23 and side body portions 24, Thus it will be apparent that when the jaw It] has its trunnions 2| pivotally mounted in the openings 22, its tongue 23 will engage the projection 22 causing the jaw H] to be moved counterclockwise, as shown in Figure 1, toward the ornamental plate l2 so as to grip the lobe 14 of the ear between them.

The jaw 10 may be moved to open position as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, if however, it is moved beyond the location shown in dotted lines there is danger of forcing the spring tongue 23 to a point beyond its elastic limit and, accordingly, we provide an abutment 25 which is cut out and raised from the sheet stock of the bottom wall ll of the mounting member H and bent as at 26 at substantially right angles to the bottom wall I? to provide for engagement of the end 2'! of the spring tongue 23 which will limit the movement of the jaw Ill relative to the mounting member H, thus preventing the jaw from being moved to open position to an extent to rupture the spring tongue. By engagement at this location the full end thrust strength of the tongue is utilized. The spring tongue 23 is 3 transversely arched as shown at 32 in Figure 5 so as to stifien and strengthen the same.

This abutment 25 may also serve the useful purpose of a pendant support by being pierced as at 28 with an opening from which a pendant 29 may be supported by means of the rings 30 and 3!.

position, and an abutment sheared and project: 7

ing from said bottom wall in a position to be engaged by the end of said tongue to limit the opening movement of the jaw.

V 2. A finding for a clasp as in claim 1 wherein said member is of sheet stock and said abutment is one piece with and bent into position from the sheet stock of said wall. 7

V 3. A finding for a clasp as in claim 1 wherein said abutment is provided with means to have an ornament attached thereto.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,931,437 Haage Oct. 17, 1933 1967 965 Morehouse et a1. July 24, 1934 2,095,785 Ziegenbein Oct. 12, 1937 2,230,984 Chernow' Feb. 4. 1941 2,400,513 Jellinek May 21, 1946 2,503,167 r Oldak Apr. 4, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 146,681 Germany Dec. 17, 1903 

